Most personal dwelling structures are made from wood, aluminum, bricks, concrete blocks, and similar sturdy materials and the structures include electrical wiring and plumbing and other high quality and expensive features. However, many of these traditional materials and features are inappropriate for non-traditional construction applications where simplicity and speed of erection is essential and when electrical wiring and plumbing may not be included in the structure.
One situation where common methods and materials would be particularly inappropriate is in remote regions of third world countries. Other examples include emergency/natural disaster situations or military operations. In all of these applications, it is required that the materials used to construct a building be light weight such that they are easily transported. Other requirements include low cost, ease and speed of assembly, and minimization of the tools required for assembly. Unfortunately, all of the materials commonly used for dwelling structures today are inadequate for these and other similar applications.
Initially, the materials commonly used for contemporary construction are relatively heavy. For example, one vehicle generally cannot carry enough wood, bricks, concrete blocks, or even aluminum to construct a single building structure. Therefore, constructing a building out of such materials requires the materials be transported by machinery or additional persons. However, if the building structure is to be constructed in a remote region, use of machinery is often not possible. On the other hand, it may not be practical to employ several persons to transport materials into the remote region for only one, small structure.
Even if there is appropriate transportation for the materials, transportation costs are likely to increase the cost of construction. These transportation costs are in addition to the high cost for the materials themselves.
Most of the materials commonly in commercial and home construction use in the United States today are difficult for persons of little or no skill to assemble into a building. Indeed, to assemble a structure out of wood, aluminum, concrete, or brick, the builder must possess a substantial body of knowledge. For example, the builder must be careful to keep the structure square, as well as the walls vertical to the floor. The builder must also be conscious of providing proper structural support for the walls and the roof. Obviously, for a person to construct a building out of bricks, wood, aluminum, or other common materials, some basic construction knowledge, instructions, or teaching is required.
Even if one has the knowledge to construct a structure out of common construction materials, the builder still needs tools. For example, when building with wood, the builder must at least possess a hammer, a saw, and other basic tools. To construct a building out of brick or concrete blocks, a block cutter and a trowel would be minimally necessary. Other materials commonly used for construction require similar tools and the basic knowledge to use them properly.
Another reason that common construction materials are inadequate for some special applications is the various connectors required for assembly. Most of the materials commonly used for construction require connectors such as nails, screws, adhesives, or mortar. These connectors also require special tools and knowledge to use. These connectors also contribute to the expense of the building and the time required for construction.
One of the chief shortcomings of building materials in common use is the time required to assemble a structure using these materials. A building structure of only moderate size often requires several days, if not weeks, to complete. For military or emergency applications, this is a prohibitively long time period.
Thus, there exists a need for a lightweight, easily-assembled, inexpensive building structure and method for assembly. Such a building structure would overcome the many problems of the prior art building materials and it is to the provision of such a method and apparatus that the present invention is primarily directed.